A dry tip electrosurgical device, such as a Bovie pencil, can cause the temperature of tissue being treated to rise significantly higher than 100° Celsius, resulting in tissue desiccation, tissue sticking to the electrodes, tissue perforation, char formation and smoke generation.
Furthermore, certain surgical devices are too large to be used in confined surgical spaces and/or are simply ineffective in treating tissue, such as to inhibit blood loss.
More recently, fluid-assisted electrosurgical devices have been developed which use saline to inhibit undesirable effects such as tissue desiccation, electrode sticking, smoke production and char formation during the treatment of tissue. However, too much saline can provide too much electrical dispersion and cooling at the electrode-tissue interface. This reduces the temperature of the tissue being treated and, in turn, can result in a longer treatment time to achieve the desired tissue temperature for treatment of the tissue. Long treatment times are undesirable for surgeons since it is in the best interest of the patient, physician and hospital to perform surgical procedures as quickly as possible.
In light of the above, there is a need for devices and methods which address the foregoing concerns.